This is a competitive renewal to the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) Bridges to the Doctorate Program (BRIDGES) (1R25 GM067592-06) which addresses the critical shortage of underrepresented minorities (URM) in tenure track faculty positions at medical schools in the United States. This will be accomplished by continuing our partnership with Jackson State University and the addition of another partner, California State University, Dominguez Hills. Each institution has individual specific goals to meet. We will increase the number of annual student slots from six to eight. The long-term goals of the BRIDGES Program are: (1) increase the number of URMs who matriculate in and graduate from Ph.D. programs in the basic medical sciences (BMS) at IUPUI or other doctoral granting institutions after completing their master's degrees at Jackson State University (JSU), a historically black College and University (HBCU) and California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), an African-American-serving, Hispanic-serving and Native American-serving Institution;and, (2) increase the number of URMs, in general, who pursue careers as independent research scientists and faculty members. During the first five years of our program, 18 scholars matriculated, ten scholars have bridged to doctoral degree programs. Five of them are at IUSM, and three have already passed their PhD. Qualifying Exams. Four continue in Master's program, 2 changed career paths (to nursing and business), 1 stopped at the Masters, and 1 dropped out. With a new coordinator at JSU, the addition of CSUDH, and the progress we have made already to our goals, we anticipate enhanced numbers and percentages of scholars beginning the doctoral degree programs and continuing on to receive the Ph.D. degree. Public Health Relevance Statement: This Bridges to the Doctorate application is directed at the national need (Public Law 106-524) for increasing the number of well-trained minority scientists in biomedical research which will enable the nation to better improve the health of the people of the U.S. and eliminate health disparities in the nation. Currently there is not a critical mass of the following ethnic minorities: African American, Hispanic, Native American. This application seeks to increase these numbers through a seamless bridge between the Master's Degree and the Doctoral Degree.